Murder Charges Filed in Death of Teen-Age Hero at ‘Pay’ Party : Violence: Eric Gunn will be arraigned in the fatal shooting of his half brother, Rayshaun Love. The events devastate the Lan- caster family.

Prosecutors filed murder charges Tuesday against a Lancaster man in the death of his half brother, Rayshaun Love, who was shot in the chest while shielding two teen-age girls from gunfire during a pay-to-enter party.

Eric Lamont Gunn, 22, was slated to be arraigned today on the murder charge, along with two counts of attempted murder and one count of cocaine possession, said John K. Spillane, head deputy at the district attorney’s Antelope Valley office.

The attempted-murder charges relate to accusations that Gunn shot two other teen-agers at the party. Also, a small amount of rock cocaine was allegedly found in his possession at the time of his arrest Monday night.

Gunn was being held at the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station in lieu of $1-million bail.

Family members, already grieving over the death of Love, 17, were devastated after Gunn’s arrest. “I was shocked,” said Kinesha Henderson, a cousin of the half brothers.

“We can’t take it,” said Diann Wright, an aunt. “Right now it’s too much.”

Wright said the pair had a good relationship. “Eric was very protective of Rayshaun,” she said.

Gunn had spent time at the family’s Lancaster apartment after Love’s death. But until deputies arrived to make the arrest, family members were not aware that Gunn was a suspect in his half brother’s slaying, Wright said.

“Eric is a quiet person,” she said. “He’s always been quiet.”

Love was fatally shot about 1 a.m. Sunday at a pay-to-enter party at a house on Newgrove Street. The two other men injured at the gathering remained hospitalized Tuesday at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in fair condition.

Spillane declined to discuss details of the case but said it appears that Gunn began shooting after an “argument or fight of some type.”

“He apparently became enraged or upset,” Spillane said of Gunn, who lives in Palmdale. “It appears he was shooting at one of the individuals who was (hospitalized). He not only shot that person but another person and Mr. Love.”

Spillane said it appears that Gunn was firing at the party-goer he was arguing with rather than at his brother, who was later hailed as a hero for protecting the two girls. It is believed that Gunn fired four shots, Spillane said. A second gunman is also being sought, although Spillane would not say whether that man fired any shots.

Spillane also refused to say whether the handgun that Gunn used was recovered.

Sheriff’s investigators said they arrested Gunn after receiving telephone tips Monday from people who had attended the party but had not reported the gunman’s name when deputies arrived at the scene.

“I believe there were a lot of people who knew,” said Isa Chapron, who rents the house where the party took place and helped organize the event. “I believe a lot of people were afraid to say.”

Sheriff’s deputies initially said the gunfire erupted after someone spilled beer on Gunn’s shoe.

Chapron said mixed drinks were being sold in the back yard and garage area where the shooting occurred, but no beer. Although he did not witness the incident, Chapron said other party-goers told him that a fistfight broke out when Gunn tried to dance with a woman who was dancing with another man. The gunfire erupted after the fistfight, Chapron said.

The party host said he cooperated with sheriff’s homicide investigators, who assured him that he would not face charges in connection with the party. The investigators could not be reached for comment Tuesday to confirm Chapron’s statements.

Authorities said Chapron should have obtained a local business license and a state alcohol permit to hold a pay-to-enter party. “I didn’t know I needed them,” he said. “I didn’t know you couldn’t charge people to come to a party.”

City officials in the Antelope Valley said Tuesday that they saw no immediate need to toughen local laws against pay-to-enter parties, which teens say are common in the Antelope Valley.

“The laws are already in place,” said Lancaster Mayor Arnie Rodio. “I don’t know of any residential area where we allow people to charge others to come to a party. It’s a violation of the city’s zoning ordinance because it becomes a commercial venture.”

Rodio said fire codes also limit the number of people who can gather in one location, such as a home.

The mayor said he plans to ask sheriff’s deputies to be more aggressive in looking for signs of underage drinking and illegal admission charges when they respond to complaints about noisy parties.

“There are all kinds of laws out there” prohibiting pay-to-enter parties, Rodio said. “I think they should enforce those laws.”

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said he may ask city staff for a report on current laws that could be used to curtail pay-to-enter parties. “I’m open to reviewing appropriate modifications if they are warranted,” he said.